Combination utility board and sign



Dec. 4, 1951 w, WALKER 2,576,983

COMBINATION UTILITY BOARD AND SIGN Filed 001;. 5. 1945 Patented Dec. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

COMBINATION UTILITY BOARD AND SIGN 'William Walker, Pocatello, Idaho Application October 5, 1945, Serial No. 620,451

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to an improved board or support for assembling loose letters into message or sign formation, and one of its objects is to provide a board or support with one or more channels for receiving and displaying the organized letters, with a yielding strip on one side of each channel and a non-yielding strip on the opposite side, so that letters may be forced into the channel, and will be retained in place against displacement by road or building vibration.

This invention is in particular an improvement over the construction patented to me on January 19, 1943, No. 2,308,556, and relates more particularly to the channel construction, which is used in combination with the adjustment shown in this patent.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain new and useful constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, clearly described in the following specification, and fully illustrated in the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, showing the improved channel cross support mounted for vertical adjustment on the base frame.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line 22, greatly enlarged.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a modified form.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are vertical sections of modifled forms of the supporting bars or boards.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the practical embodiment of the invention, 5 designates a supporting frame, comprising the vertical members 6 and and the upper horizontal cross member 8, which is rigidly connected at its ends to the vertical side members 6 and l. The side members 6. and l are formed with longitudnal ,slots 9, and the cross member 8 is formed with a longitudinal slot l0.

On the vertical side members 6 and 1 two horizontal supporting bars or boards II and I2 are disposed. The upper supporting bar or board II is adjustably clamped to the side members 6 and by means of the bolts 3 and I4, which slidablyengage theslots 9 of said side members, and are provided on the inner ends with wing nuts |5, which clamp the ends of the bar or board to the side members 6 and l, for vertical adjustment thereon.

The outer ends of the lower bar or board I2 is similarly clamped to the side members 6 and by means of the bolts I6 and II, which are engaged by the wing nuts I 8, which clamp the ends of theboard l2 on the side members for vertical adjustment.

The upper bar or board II is formed with a rabbeted edge l9, and a groove 20, in which the hard-strip 2| is inserted. The bar or board I2 is formed with a rabbeted edge 22, and provided with a groove 23, in which the strip of yielding rubber 24 or other equivalent material is tightly inserted. The two strips 2| and 24 are disposed in parallel relation to each other and spaced apart to provide a letter holding channel, to receive a letter grouping as indicated at 25.

The lower bar or board l2 may be formed with an additional rabbeted edge 26, and provided with a hard strip 21, inserted snugly in a groove thereof.

In Fig. 4 I show a supporting board or bar 28, which is formed with a groove 29 in which the rubber strip 3| is snugly inserted, and this strip is backed by means of a panel strip 32 which is laid on the bar or board 28, so as to provide a shoulder 33 on the opposite side thereof.

In Fig. 5 I show a bar or board 34, which is formed with a rabbeted edge 35 on one side and another rabbeted edge 36 on the other side. A resilient rubber strip 31 is snugly fitted in the groove 38 against the centrally thicker portion 39.

In Fig. 6 I show another modified form, wherein the bar or board 40 is formed with a single rabbeted edge 4|, and provided with a resilient rubber strip 42, which is inserted snugly in the groove 43.

In Fig. 3 I show a plastic or metal moulding strip 44, which consists of a central channel bar 45, and side channel bars 46 and 41, spaced from the opposite longitudinal side edges of the central channel bar 45, to provide channels or grooves 48 and 49. The central channel bar 45 has greater depth than the side channel bars 46 and 41. In the channel or groove 48 a resilient rubber strip 50 is snugly fitted, and in the channel or groove 49 nothing is placed. This strip or bar is used in cooperation with a similar moulding strip 44, in which the resilient rubber strip 5| is inserted. The letter or display character 52 is held in place by the rubber strip 5| and the shoulder 44a of the central channel bar 45. The groove 49 can be used to remove the display characters. By sliding a pencil or similar instrument through the groove, the characters will be readily lifted from the shoulder 44a.

The spacing between the parallel bars or boards II and |2 may be increased or decreased by the end adjustments on the vertical supporting bars, so that large or small letters may be assembled in word formation between the two bars.

Due to the resilient action of the rubber strip of the channel, each of the letters will be forced;

into full bearing edge engagement with the hard strip. These letters are formed'with-end edges which are right angular to their sidesedges so,

that end edges will have parallel engagement with the hard side strip, thereby:forcing-.Wheletter;

forms on the letter blocks into correctreading alignment with the supports, so that allletters willbein precision reading order.

It is,u n derstood that various changes in-- the details OlI'TCOllStIIlCtiQIl, combinationand arrangement; o f parts, maybe restorted to within the scopeofi the invention, as definedby the claim hereo Having described my, invention, I-claim as new:

In a utility boardand sign,- vertical supports laterally, spacedj from eachother, a pair of horizontal,supportsadjustably connected to the vertical supportsand providing a pair of channel sides, one mi said hcrizontalsupports having a horizontalerooves andash uld r. djacent ther t th 4 other of said horizontal supports having a similar groove and a shoulder adjacent thereto, a strip of resilient material in the groove of the other horizontal support and supported by the shoulder of the horizontal support, display elements adapted to fit between the shoulder of the one support and the resilient strip of the other support, said display, elements, being held in tight engagement therebetween. by the resiliency of the resilient strip, backing edges for the display elements spaced from the bottoms of said groove. the groove of the one horizontal support providing" space through which an instrument can be extended, to,v lift the display elements from said supports.

WILLIAM WALKER.

REFERENCES CITED The; folltniving references are, of, record in; the filefofthis patent" UNIIEDL STATES; PATENTS Number Name Date 7733678 Robertson et a1 Nov; 1; 1904 1,586,088 Jellow May-25, 1926 116763637 Di Bona et al. July '10,, 1928 1,921,437 Stupell v Aug, 8;,1933.

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date- Great Britairr- Apr. 26, 1928 

